Author: Nathan Bloechl

Prep Volleyball: Notre Dame, New London, Holy Trinity All Preseason Ranked:

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union has released their preseason polls for all classes and as you would expect several area clubs were recognized.

Starting in Class 1A, defending state champion Burlington Notre Dame is the preseason No. 1.

The Nikes return several from last year’s state title team that finished 19-5.

New London — despite losing all-time great head coach Maureen Heath — is the preseason No. 3 in Class 1A.

The Tigers finished last year 22-8 and return many key pieces from that state qualifying group.

The always tough Holy Trinity Crusaders check in as the preseason No. 9 in Class 1A, under long time head coach Melissa Freesmeier.

Holy Trinity missed out on the state volleyball tournament for the first time in 10 years one season ago, when the Crusaders were ousted by Notre Dame on their home floor.

In Class 3A, West Burlington — the new home of said Maureen Heath — is the preseason No. 8.

The Lady Falcons finished last year 18-4.

North Scott and Iowa City Liberty are considered the preseason top dogs in Class 4 and 5A respectively.

Prep Volleyball: Mount Pleasant, WACO in Action Last Night:

Mount Pleasant 2, Burlington 0 

Muscatine 2, Mount Pleasant 0 

The Mount Pleasant volleyball team got their season started last night at home, welcoming in Burlington and Muscatine for a triangular.

The Panthers started the night with a sweep victory over the Greyhounds, winning 25-18, 25-20.

In game two, Mount Pleasant saw Muscatine snag 25-20 and 25-17 wins to up end the Panthers, who finished the home triangular 1-1.

Mount Pleasant will travel to Ottumwa on Thursday, for a road triangular.

They’ll take on host Ottumwa and Davis County with play getting underway at 6:00 p.m. at Evans Middle School.

WACO Finishes Fourth 

The WACO volleyball team started their season with a fourth place at their home tournament last night.

The Warriors, who advanced to within game of the state tournament last year, are working to replace the terrific exploits of graduated hitter Morgan Graber.

No. 8 (3A) West Burlington was crowned victors of the tournament, after dispatching Wapello in the finals.

Sigourney placed third.

Prep Football: Radio Iowa Football Announced:

8-Player

1. Don Bosco @ #7 Easton Valley
2. Montezuma (1-0) @ HLV
3. CAM (Anita) @ #9 Fremont-Mills
4. Audubon @ S.E. Warren
5. Remsen St. Mary’s vs Harris-Lake Park
6. Newell-Fonda vs West Bend-Mallard
7. Easton Valley vs #1 Don Bosco
8. Janesville @ Meskwaki
9. Fremont-Mills vs #3 CAM
10.Kingsley-Pierson vs GTRA

Class A

1. Grundy Center vs South Hardin
2. Council Bluffs St. Albert @ Treynor
3. West Hancock @ Garner-Hayfield-Ventura
4. Logan-Magnolia vs Carroll Kuemper
5. Saint Ansgar vs Osage
6. Lisbon vs West Branch
7. Mason City Newman vs Central Springs
8. Bellevue @ Northeast
9. HMS (Hartley) vs 1A #2 West Sioux
10.Mount Ayr @ Nodaway Valley

Class 1A

1. Van Meter vs Earlham
2. West Sioux @ A #9 HMS (Hartley)
3. Iowa City Regina vs 2A #3 Williamsburg
4. Underwood vs Tri-Center
5. Waterloo Columbus vs Dike-New Hartford
6. South Central Calhoun @ East Sac County
7. MFL MarMac vs New Hampton
8. Pella Christian @ DSM Christian
9. Western Christian @ 2A #4 West Lyon
10.Cascade @ Monticello

Class 2A

1. Central Lyon/GLR @ 3A #4 Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley
2. Waukon vs Waverly-Shell Rock
3. Williamsburg @ 1A #3 Iowa City Regina
4. West Lyon vs 1A #9 Western Christian
5. PCM (Monroe) vs Davis County
6. West Marshall @ South Tama
7. Southeast Valley vs Interstate-35
8. Clear Lake vs Iowa Falls
9. Estherville Lincoln Central @ Storm Lake
10.Camanche vs Dyersville Beckman

Class 3A

1. West Delaware vs 4A #3 Xavier
2. Harlan vs 4A #2 Lewis Central
3. Davenport Assumption @ Rock Island Alleman
4. Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley vs 2A #1 Central Lyon/GLR
5. Sergeant Bluff-Luton vs LeMars
6. Solon vs West Liberty
7. Ballard (Huxley) @ Bondurant-Farrar
8. Humboldt @ 4A #4 Webster City
9. Sioux Center vs Sheldon
10.Gilbert @ Adel (ADM)

Class 4A

1. North Scott vs Davenport North
2. Lewis Central @ 3A #2 Harlan
3. Cedar Rapids Xavier @ 3A #1 West Delaware
4. Webster City vs 3A #8 Humboldt
5. Pella @ #10 Norwalk
6. Decorah @ Crestwood
7. Glenwood @ Atlantic
8. Fort Dodge vs Mason City
9. Indianola vs Ankeny Centennial
10.Norwalk vs #5 Pella

Class 5A

1. Southeast Polk vs #2 Dowling Catholic
2. Dowling Catholic @ #1 S.E. Polk
3. Cedar Falls @ #10 Johnston
4. Pleasant Valley @ CR Prairie
5. Ankeny vs Waukee
6. WDM Valley vs Waukee Northwest
7. Bettendorf vs Urbandale
8. Cedar Rapids Kennedy @ #9 Iowa City West
9. Iowa City West vs #8 Kennedy
10.Johnston vs #3 Cedar Falls

College Football: Cyclones Lead Way with Three AP All-Americans:

The Associated Press announced their preseason All-Americans yesterday, and the Iowa State football team tied with Notre Dame for the most selections with three.

All-American choices for Iowa State include Breece Hall, Charlie Kolar and Mike Rose.

Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum was a first-team selection at center.

Iowa State will open their much anticipated campaign on September 4th against UNI, while the No. 18 Hawkeyes will begin with a tough conference tilt against Indiana.

Both games can be heard on the KILJ family of networks.

College Football: Central Favorited for ARC Crown:

The Central College Dutch are the coaches’ choice to win the 2021 American Rivers Conference Football title.

Central was chosen first on eight ballots and earned 64 points to earn the No. 1 ranking.

Two years ago, the last time conference football was played, the Dutch split the title with Wartburg. The Knights garnered 56 points in the poll and received one first-place vote.

Dubuque debuts at No. 3 in the coaches’ poll, earning 47 points, and Coe picked up 43 points to put them at the No. 4 spot.

Simpson tallied 36 points to put them at the No. 5 spot and Loras picked up 31 points to earn sixth.

Nebraska Wesleyan, Luther, and Buena Vista finished seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively.

Central is entering the season ranked No. 14 while Wartburg is entering ranked No. 18 in D3football.com’s Top 25 Preseason Poll.

The 2021 season kicks off on Saturday, September 4 with all nine members of the American Rivers Conference taking the field.

Men’s College Soccer: Wesleyan Falls in NAIA Opener:

After nine years in NCAA Division III, the Iowa Wesleyan men’s soccer team made their return to NAIA, falling the Midland University on Saturday, 1-0 at Bracewell Stadium.

In the early minutes of the game, the Tigers put pressure on the Warriors.

However, Midland countered with a goal against the run of play, finding the back of the net in the 35th minute.

The Tigers would struggle to put shots on goal with Carlos Mateo Moreno having the lone shot on goal for Wesleyan.

Midland put seven shots on goal.

Goalkeeper Alvaro Morera made four saves for the Tigers.

Wesleyan will look to bounce back against William Penn University on Tuesday in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m.

College Football: Drake Ready to Compete in the Pioneer Football League:

An experienced Drake football team looks to contend for the Pioneer Football League championship this fall.

The Bulldogs return the entire roster from a team that finished 2-3 during an abbreviated spring season — including former Mount Pleasant standout Kieran Kohorst, who played in four games with three starts last year.

“Normally that first week of training camp, it’s a bit of a cluster — but it feels like we’ve picked up right where we’ve left off” head coach Todd Stepsis said.

The defense gave up less than 13 points and 77 yards of rushing per game in the spring but the Bulldogs need improvement from an offense that averaged only 18 points per contest.

The Bulldogs open at home on Thursday, September 2nd against West Virginia Wesleyan.

Women’s College Basketball: Iowa City’s Joens Picks Iowa State:

The third installment of the Joens’ sisters is following her older siblings footsteps.

Yesterday City High Star Kelsey Joens announced her commitment to Iowa State — picking the Clones over other offers from Nebraska and Michigan.

Both of the elder sisters are currently on the Cyclone roster, including National Player of the Year Candidate and All-American Ashley Joens.

Iowa State finished 17-11 last year, falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Texas A&M.